I bet this tastes better when Zuni does it..
Farro and Tomato Salad with Basil and Anchovies
I recently crossed another food "first" off of my list.
It goes by the name of Farro.
Ok, so you probably eat it all the time and you are shocked that I have never had it OR made it myself.
But for those of you aren't so well acquainted with farro, let me get technical for a second.
Farro, is an ancient variety of wheat, and it is very commonly eaten in Italy.
To put it even more simply: farro is like a bowl full of little wheat nubbins.
And I do love a big bowl full of nubbins.
The only farro recipe I could find in my cookbooks came from Zuni. My instincts nudged me at first. No, they actually screamed at me and told me to NOT follow this recipe. And before I proceed, let me just state this is not an attack on Zuni, this is just me knowing my tastebuds and that's that.
I loves me some Judy Rodgers so don't even go there.
First of all the combination of tomato and cucumber bores me (don't come near my tabbouleh with that cucumber!) Add basil to the mix and I am pretty much down for the count and snoring loudly.
Ok, maybe you love the combination, but this is not always about you, ok?
But I figured it was Zuni, I had to give it a shot. Yes, I have faith in the almighty Zuni.
And who knew, maybe with the anchovies this would be some miraculous combination that would change my life forever.
I cooked the farro for about 10 minutes, and let it cool. I then added some chopped tomato, cucumber and a couple of salt-packed anchovies. I tossed it with a mix of olive oil and sherry vinegar. Finally, I added some fresh basil and some salt and pepper and dug in.
Alas, it did not change my life forever.
But I tried, and that's what counts.
The good news is, I sure do like farro. Hearty and chewy and, well, hearty some more.
And have no fear, I did eat that bowl of misguidedness. I mean it was fine, but I did feel some regret about the fabulous farro salad I could have had if I had followed my instincts in the first place.
And the truth is, that I bet this farro salad tastes fabulous when Judy Rodgers has a hand in making it. I bet she has some magical pixie dust that she sprinkles over it at the end that would just make me want to eat it all the time. But alas, said pixie dust cannot be found in my cupboards, and last I checked, there was no Judy Rodgers in there either.
But at least there is Farro in my life now. I can definitely see some wheaty nubbin happiness in my future.
posted by Michèle at 9:05 AM
8 Comments:
It's marvelous to try something new, though, isn't it? I've got farro on me to-try list. I'll pop over to Epicurious and see if they have any recipes (they tend to be high-fat, but I usually have great success with them).
Cheers!
hi! I come often here, to read your gentle descriptions of food, love and life.
I really love the way you write.
As an italian, I can only tell you that.. with farro, you can combine any recipe you want..
Personally (as salad) I like it very much (boiled and then mixed)with pesto (basil, oil, garlic, pine-kernels) and fish (crawfish or octopus)..
in winter instead, we eat soups with farro (and in italy you can find also pasta, made of farro)
:-)
Eh, I'm still not convinced that Zuni is all that. I've had a lot of blah things there. Maybe my tastebuds are just blown out, or my inexperienced palate cannot appreciate the finer Zuni subtleties. But after that market brownie, I'm trusting your instincts over Judy, girl...
farro? never heard of it until now. must give it try.
(i definitely need to "get out more" culinary wise....)
Almost Vegetarian, it definitely is marvellous to try something new. It's funny though when you see it in the shop all the time but never actually take the time to buy it. I swear I've been looking at Farro for ever and kept meaning to buy it but it took MONTHS before I actually did. But I'm happy I finally did, because I really like it.
Tommi, well thank you for the kind words and the recipe tips. The pesto version sounds right up my alley. I am definitely going to have some fun experimenting with Farro in the near future.
Cindym, oh my god, did you just say that out loud? Or write that on my blog I mean? Ha! Well admittedly Ive never been to the restaurant so my praises only extend as far as the cookbook. But I appreciate the vote of confidence on my instincts--that brownie was definitely not all THAT.
Chris, well I'm happy to be introducing farro to you. I was hoping there was someone other than me out there who hadn't tried it ;)
So get shopping my friend!
I've never tried farro nor ever heard of it until your post. Thanks! I hope to be able to find it and give it a try some time.
Hey, I had farro for the first time last week. Molly made a salad with corn from a recipe off Wednesday Chef. I really liked it--very nubbiny goodness, as you say. I bet Heidi has some good farro recipes at 101 Cookbooks as well. I love new food discoveries.
So, how about that quinoa...?
Tea, hey what's up with farro lately! I'm happy to hear it is making the rounds. And good tip about Heidi, I'm sure she has some good recipes, I will check it out. As for the quinoa, that stuff is stuck in my brain now with a side order of guilt! When I started to make the farro I kept thinking "You should really be making quinoa.." What is this strange mental block I have with the quinoa?
But seriously, this weekend, it just has to happen. It just has to..
;)
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